What solicitors and reps say

Criminal defence solicitors and police station representatives describe how structured notes fit night duty, multi-force cover, billing, training, and firm-wide consistency in custody work across England and Wales.

• “

  I was still scribbling on pads after volatile night-duty arrests — now the sections walk me through disclosure, fitness, and advice in order. I’m out of the suite ten minutes faster on a busy shift, and the office actually gets something legible instead of my spider handwriting.

• “

  I cover three forces on a rota and custody Wi‑Fi is patchy at best. CustodyNote runs offline, syncs when I’m back on a signal, and I’m not juggling different paper templates per station — one workflow wherever I’m booked.

• “

  We had too many ‘thin’ notes landing on billing that the LAA would query. The structured fields mean fee earners capture time, attendance, and advice in one place — fewer write‑offs and less back‑and‑forth with the certifier.

• “

  I’m newly accredited and was terrified I’d miss something after a long interview. The headings mirror what supervisors expect — disclosure, representations, PACE clock — so I’m learning what ‘good’ looks like while I’m still in the chair.

• “

  After a s.18 and lengthy interview I used to photograph pages and hope someone could read them. Now I export a PDF and email it from the car park — the fee earner had the full note before I was back on the road.

• “

  When the firm’s audited or we respond to a complaint, we need the same baseline from everyone. CustodyNote gives us consistent sectioning across solicitors and reps, and exports we can file on the matter without retyping.